The father and son duo of Robert and Jason Tillis have taken yet another step as they build one of the nation’s largest growing food packaging, paper products, foodservice disposables and janitorial supplies distribution companies in Imperial Bag and Paper. Under Robert and Jason’s leadership, the company has grown both organically and through acquisitions to become one of the foodservice disposables and janitorial supplies industry leaders.
The Tillis led Imperial Bag and Paper recently closed on the purchase of Miami-based Dade Paper. The new firm will be known as Imperial Dade. For the Jersey City based Imperial, the acquisition is the latest in a series of purchases. Since purchasing Imperial in 2007, the Tillis duo has engineered the purchases of ten distributors which began in 2009 with the acquisition of Borda Products. Among those additions included several well known Metro New York distributors including Burke Supply in 2011 and Borax Paper in 2016.
“Together, our businesses will share best practices and provide a platform for future organic growth. The partnership with the Dade organization will significantly expand our reach into the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic markets, allowing us greater geographic coverage and ability to serve a broad customer base,” said Robert Tillis “The management teams are all staying in place and the goal is to take the best of each of the companies and put them together going forward,” Jason Tillis explained.
The Imperial Dade acquisition will greatly expand the firm’s footprint.
“This takes us from being really strong in the Northeast to strength throughout the East Coast and Puerto Rico. Our intention is to remain as nimble and as fast as ever to serve our customers,” Jason Tillis continued. The new Imperial Dade operation will now serve its customer base from 15 facilities plus numerous cross dock locations.
“This acquisition now gives us the ability to provide next day delivery to the entire East Coast,” Jason Tillis added. “Our goal is to offer the largest inventory and most product expertise across all different verticals. We want to be a great support and distribution partner to anyone who wants to grow their business.”
“The strategic decision to partner with Imperial will greatly benefit our customers and employees,” said Frank Sansone, COO of Dade Paper. “With Imperial we will soon be able to offer our customers a broader product offering and service across a wider footprint. The combined company’s culture and commitment to growth provide a great work environment and career advancement opportunities for our team throughout our combined footprint.”
Imperial Dade will now have the opportunity to bring their strong sustainable initiative to the entire East Coast. Both companies have sustainable programs in place and the goal is to encompass both initiatives under one with a program called GreenSafe. “It’s a fundamental part of how we go to market,” added Jason Tillis. “We want to offer our customers green solutions and programs when possible and we are fortunate enough to have talented individuals from both companies that are accredited and ready to lead our customers.”
Imperial Dade also continues to support its customer base with innovative technology. “We view technology and our website as an extension of our customer’s experience and complimenting our sales force,” added the firm’s President.
Imperial was formed in 1935 and was purchased by the current CEO, Robert Tillis, and President, Jason Tillis, in 2007. Imperial headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, is one of the nation’s leading distributors of disposable food service and janitorial supplies for restaurants, supermarkets, schools, “grab-n-go” convenience stores and
retailers.
Founded in 1939, Dade distributes foodservice disposables and janitorial supplies to restaurants, supermarkets, cruise lines, hotels and motels, schools, convention centers, stadiums, and other foodservice establishments. Dade primarily services the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic markets reaching from Florida to Maryland with additional locations in the Tri-State and Northeast regions. Dade Paper is a leading distributor of foodservice disposables and janitorial supplies serving customers across more than twenty states with an emphasis on supermarkets, foodservice providers, cruise lines and schools.
